Agencies

China’s national space agency, behind the first landing on the Moon’s far side and the first samples ever returned from it.

Canada’s space agency, best known for its robotic arms and for flying the first non-American astronaut around the Moon.

Europe’s space agency, run jointly by 22 member states, with missions from the first comet landing to the Huygens probe on Titan.

Israel’s national space agency, which supports the country’s science satellites and its first attempts to reach the Moon.

India’s space agency, known for reaching Mars on its first attempt and the first landing near the Moon’s south pole.

Japan’s space agency, a pioneer in returning samples from asteroids and now headed for the moons of Mars.

South Korea’s new national space agency, created in 2024 with plans to land on the Moon by 2032.

America’s space agency, the only one to land humans on the Moon, and with spacecraft that have visited every planet.

The U.S. weather and climate agency, which watches the Sun from deep space to forecast storms that can disrupt life on Earth.

Russia’s space agency, heir to the Soviet space program and a key partner on the International Space Station.

The UAE’s national space agency, behind the Hope probe, the first Arab mission to Mars.

The Soviet space program, which launched the first satellite and the first human into space and was first to reach the Moon and Venus.

A Colorado spaceflight company that flew CAPSTONE, the first commercial spacecraft to orbit near the Moon.

The research lab for the U.S. Air Force and Space Force, now developing Oracle, the first spacecraft built to keep watch over the space between Earth and the Moon.

Jeff Bezos’s spaceflight company, building the New Glenn rocket and the Blue Moon landers for NASA’s return to the Moon.

China’s national academy of sciences, which builds science satellites and runs the first satellite constellation spanning Earth-Moon space.

A Texas space company whose Blue Ghost lander made the first fully successful commercial landing on the Moon.

A Houston company whose Odysseus lander made the first U.S. Moon landing since Apollo 17 in 1972.

A Denver space and defense company that acquired lunar lander maker Astrobotic in 2026 and is flying NASA’s Moon Base II.